Q9. There are a number of reasons why people might read the labels of products they buy. I’d like to know how important the following potential reasons are to you personally.
77% Not very important Not important at all
General Public
Base: n=999; General Public who read labels DK/NR=1% or less
Variations among members of the general public regarding the importance of reasons for reading the labels of products included the following:
• Checking directions for use was more likely to be considered very important by women (72% vs. 64% of men), Anglophones (71% vs. 60% of Francophones), and those not employed (77% vs. 64% of those employed). The likelihood of considering this very important also increased with age (from 57% of those under 35 to 81% of those 65 and older).
• Checking for warnings was more likely to be considered very important among women (74% vs. 65% of men), and older respondents (74% of 55-64 year olds and 76% of those 65 and older vs. 63% of those under 35).
• Assigning strong importance to determining the contents of the product was more likely among women (64% vs. 54% of men) and residents of Alberta (75% vs. 49-60% elsewhere).
• The likelihood of assigning strong importance to determining if a product is safe decreased with education (from 80% of those with high school or less to 70% of those with a university degree). Women were more likely to consider this very important (80% vs. 66% of men), as were Anglophones (75% vs. 65% of Francophones).
• The likelihood of assigning strong importance to seeing where a product is made increased with age (from 22% of those under 35 to 57% of those 65 and older).
This was also more likely to be considered very important by those not employed (45% vs. 32% of those employed).
• Assigning strong importance to seeing if there are any potential allergens was more likely among urban residents (49% vs. 37% of rural residents), and respondents with a household member with a medical condition (57% vs. 38% of those with no such household member). The youngest were least likely to view this as very important (37% of those under 35 vs. 48-52% of those over 35).
Perceptions of parents and guardians who read labels are very similar to those of members of the general public. Indeed, the only noteworthy difference is that they were less likely to assign strong importance to seeing where the product is made or manufactured (29% vs. 37% of members of the general public). They were also less likely to attribute strong importance to checking directions for use (63% vs. 68%), but more likely to attribute strong importance to checking the expiry date (81% vs. 77%).
These same differences were evident between parents and non-parents, though they were slightly more pronounced. Specifically, parents were less likely to assign strong importance to seeing where the product is made or manufactured (29% vs. 39% of non-parents), less likely to attribute strong importance to checking directions for use (63% vs.
72% of non-parents), and more likely to attribute strong importance to checking the expiry date (81% vs. 75% of non-parents).
Phoenix SPI for Health Canada; December 2010
Importance of Reasons for Reading Product Labels
Q9. There are a number of reasons why people might read the labels of products they buy. I’d like to know how important the following potential reasons are to you personally.
81% Not very important Not important at all
Parents
Base: n=543; Parents who read labels Multiple responses accepted / DK/NR=3%
Variations among parents regarding the importance of reasons for reading the labels of products included the following:
• Assigning strong importance to checking the expiry date was more likely to be considered very important to those with the lowest household incomes compared to those with the highest (86% of those with incomes under $40,000 vs. 75% of those with incomes of $100,000 or more). It was also more likely to be considered very important to Francophones (88% vs. 80% of Anglophones), and in Quebec (88%) and Ontario (85%) than in the Prairies (73%) and B.C. (69%).
• The likelihood of assigning strong importance to checking directions for use increased with the age of children (from 51% of those with children under 1 to 67%
of those with children 7-12 years of age). This was also most likely to be considered very important to those the lowest household incomes (77% of those with incomes under $40,000 vs. 55-65% of others).
• The likelihood of assigning strong importance to determining if a product is safe decreased slightly with education (from 82% of those with high school or less to 74% of those with a university degree). Urban residents were more likely to consider this very important (79% vs. 67% of rural residents), as were unemployed respondents (83% vs. 75% of those employed).
• Checking for warnings was more likely to be considered very important among urban residents (73% vs. 62% of rural residents). In addition, the likelihood of considering this very important decreased with income (from 83% of those with incomes under $40,000 to 60% of those with incomes of $100,000 or more).
• Assigning strong importance to determining the contents of the product increased with age (from 52% of those under 35 to 63% of those 45 and older), and with education (from 50% of those with high school or less to 68% of those with a university degree). Urban residents were also more likely to assign strong importance to this (60% vs. 49% of rural residents).
• Assigning strong importance to seeing if there are any potential allergens was more likely among respondents with a household member with a medical condition (65% vs. 36% of those with no such household member). Regionally, only in Ontario and Quebec did majorities view this as very important (53% in Ontario and 52% in Quebec vs. 48% in the Prairies, 40% in the Atlantic region, and 34% in B.C.).
Related Focus Group Findings:
Focus group participants were not asked to rate the importance of potential reasons for reading product labels. However, with the exception of checking for potential allergens, each of the reasons assessed by survey respondents was routinely identified in the focus groups as a reason for reading product labels or as a type of information sought (see page 22). This suggests that these reasons are of personal importance to focus group participants.
Internet – Top Potential Source for Information on Product Safety
All respondents were asked where they would go if looking for information on the safety or use of the products they buy. Members of the general public were most likely to identify the Internet, either in general (39%), Google or other search engines (29%), and manufacturers’ websites (19%). A small number (3%) identified government websites (multiple responses accepted).
The most frequently-identified non-Internet source of information was the product itself, including label information (21%), followed at a distance by Health Canada (10%), a pharmacist (9%), family and friends (7%), and consumer reports (7%).
Sources identified infrequently (5% or less) include the manufacturer, health magazines or journals, store shelves, a doctor, and books or a library. Included in the ‘other’ category (identified by two percent or fewer respondents) are TV/news, newspapers/magazines, health care professionals (unspecified), the FDA, radio, and word of mouth.
Phoenix SPI for Health Canada; December 2010